Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

One particular case arose in July, when we became aware of a British national
detained abroad on drugs charges. We were not notified of his arrest until a week
after it happened, in which time he alleged that he had been beaten whilst in
custody. Consular staff visited him and offered consular assistance – including
information about the prison and legal system – and put him in touch with the NGOs
Reprieve and Prisoners Abroad. We also offered to contact his family to make them
aware of the situation. After getting his permission to do so, we protested to the
authorities about both the lack of consular notification and his mistreatment.
Consular staff aim to contact British detainees within 24 hours of being notified of
their arrest or detention, and to visit them as soon as possible afterwards. We work
to ensure that countries meet their consular notification obligations under the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations or under any bilateral conventions they have with
the UK. If our consular staff are denied access to a detained British national, we will
lobby vigorously to ensure that we are allowed to see them, both to check on their
welfare and to explain the support we can offer. This support includes direct help, as
well as providing information and access to the services of our NGO partners, most
notably Reprieve, Fair Trials International, and Prisoners Abroad.
In 2010 we provided funding for a Fair Trials International project to develop a
system for providing non-discretionary basic legal assistance, support and referrals
to all British nationals facing criminal charges overseas. We also provided core
funding for several of our UK NGO partners, including Reprieve and Prisoners
Abroad, to help ensure that those detained get the assistance they need.
In 2010 numerous instances of mistreatment were reported to us by British nationals
detained overseas. These ranged from being threatened by a police officer to
reports of torture. On those occasions where the individual did not wish us to take
action about their treatment, especially while they remained in detention, we
respected their wishes but sought their permission to pursue the allegations on
release. Where we had the individual’s permission, we raised the allegations with
foreign authorities, often repeatedly, although the responses frequently remained
inadequate. We will continue to approach foreign authorities if British nationals are
not treated in line with internationally accepted standards.
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